The Hindu : Subaru Rally from today

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 25, 2003

Sport

Sport - Racing : Motor

Subaru Rally from today

By Sanjay Rajan

CANBERRA APRIL 24. It's back to where it all began. It was here in the Australian capital last year that India's

Team MRF took its first step into the big league — the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), which is just a notch lower than the biggest of 'em all, the World Rally Championship (WRC).

The two-car team had an impressive debut (2002) year, with Stuart Warren (co-driver Darryl Judd) finishing second in the Group-N category and third overall. The team's Indian drivers, Naren Kumar and Arjun Balu, had their moments under the sun too, but failed to capitalise.

APRC 2003 will see a completely new set of faces racing for Team MRF, one with a very Euro touch to it.

German Armin Kremer, with countryman Fred Berssen as co-driver, and Austrian David Doppelreiter, with Norwegian Ola Floene, will drive the Group-N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo7s in the Subaru Rally of Canberra, the opening round of the six-leg season, between April 25 and 27.

Of the 35 cars competing in the Group-A and Group-N classes, only 11 are APRC-registered. The others are driving for Australian Rally Manufacturers Championship honours, as the event doubles up as a round of the National championship.

The quality of competition certainly seems better than last year. Among the leading names are top seed Nico Caldarola, the reigning APRC Group-N champion, with a new co-driver in Paulo Cecchini, rallying an Evo7. The home drivers and New Zealanders have always done well here.

The spotlight in Group-N will focus on last year's winner Australian Ed Ordynski (with Ian Stewart in an Evo 7), Australian Cody Crocker (with Greg Foletta in an Subaru Impreza) and Japanese Fumio Nutahara (Santoshi Hayashi, Evo7). In Group-A, Kiwi Andrew Hawkeswood with Paul Fallon (Impreza) is the standing favourite.

The rally covers 730 kms, of which the 22 gravel stages total 263 kms.

Kremer, who starts second behind Caldarola, returned the fourth best time in the shakedown on Thursday. It's will be the former European champion's first event in the APRC and in Australia.

A regular in the WRC, Kremer has years of experience behind him. On the other hand, Doppelreiter, also an Austrian snowboarding champion, is the fast and furious hell-on-wheels driver.

Team MRF manager Tony Rodricks said the cars would be running both hard and medium compound tyres for the event which was developed after the Thailand event last year.

A new Super Special Stage has been erected in the Fairbairn Motor Complex. It complements the existing jump and tunnel formation in the Kowen settlement. The new formation includes a four-metre jump leading into a 12-metre long tunnel. There will also be action under lights on the first two days.

Missing in action, however, will be defending APRC overall champion Karamjit Singh of Malaysia, whose car could not be readied in time, and three-time champion and local favourite, Possum Bourne.

Possum, a household name in both New Zealand and Australia, was involved in a head-on collision during a course inspection prior to the Race to the Sky hill climb in Cardrona Valley, Wanaka, in New Zealand last week. He is presently in a drug-induced coma in Dunedin. The 47-year-old Kiwi is a record seven-time Australian rally champion.

"What you see with Possum is what you get," the fans say. "A friendly competitor who will stop and talk to anyone." He'll certainly be missed over the weekend.

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